good comics to learn about comics, this is a topic that might be weird for people but were going to talk about comics I think do a good job with the medium that you may want to check out or at least know about.

The Spirit and Will Eisner of course are getting a token mention, because there one of the first names you often hear about when diving into this topic needless to say I feel like they are the Spirit is the Citizen Kane of comics, and should be read to see how comic evolved.

The Monster at the end of this book....This is quite serious, some people will bring up the metafiction elements but no one mention the dynamic lettering that makes it part of the art.

Mage not only do you get to see an artist evolve his style and storytelling you get a chance if your willing to dig deep into indie comic history, mage is slightly autobiography and thus characters are based on figures who Matt worked with. It's also just fine comics.

Amazing Spider-man Annual 1, this comic splash pages are legendary but also it might be an early indicator of video game plot structure. Spider-man fights six villains but not together each one is a boss and at a location, this style of story would be very influential.

Animal Man, obvious but metafiction has become such a huge part of comics that to really get it I feel Animal man is a must to really start on that Journey should you decide to start. If only because "I can see you"

Usagi Yojimbo, I think if there is one comic that shows what consistency it's Usagi Yojimbo, but it's also a good example of an educational comic, often time Usagi use real Japanese lore and history to add flavor to his fantastic adventures, it's not real but you can learn.

American Splendor by Harvey Pekar, in general one issues with autobiography comics is that there often NOW especially very artistic in a way when talking about life, Harvey just present life, it's not fantastic but it's a comic.

Jim Steranko, His Nick Fury comics are just one of those things you have to read at some point, for it's experimental nature and just being DAMN good comics. It's no wonder Jr can't compete. This series also had what many call American comics first sex scene.

Astro City for a weird reason, continuity, Astro City works on an anthology format and will often sprinkle in history of it's city and then tell an Amazing story about it. From learning about Superman's day to the Lawyer who found a legal loophole using, superhero book logic.

Golden Age comics are often looked down upon for various reasons which is why you should not be a dork and read Jack Cole's plastic man.

Team books are hard for some people, and having different voices can be a challenge, well if you want what I think has some of the best dialogue in comics you want Justice League by Giffen, Demattais,and various artists, but Kevin Mcguire Amazing faces should be taught.

The original Teenage mutant Ninja turtles comics, for one you should know about it and also it set the modern indie scene without it comics would not even have it's indie scene in MY OPINION. Sometimes it takes selling out to make things better.

Dave Sim's Cerebus for better or worse shows a degeneration of one creator from his highs and shows everything great and bad about self publishing, this is a great comic to learn from for very different reasons then most. It's fantastic, but was it worth it will be all up to you.

Terry and the Pirates is a classic comic strip that might be offensive to some for it's Asian stereotypes, but most are actual interesting characters, whatever the case this strip inspired so many artists back in the day.

Elektra Assassin by Frank Miller and Bill Sienkiewicz is one of those comics that I feel is more important as an artistic statement, but it's vibrant use of color, surrealism and plot tied to it's time is one of those comics you should check out.

Swamp Thing by Alan Moore, for one reason it should you why writers think throwing away everything about a character is a good idea(when it should be a case by case basis) to reinvent him. It's a good run of comics and I feel should be read by more people.

Jack Kirby is way too important for American comics despite what some CRITICS WHO WROTE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED GRAPHIC NOVELS THAT PULITZERS THINK(he later backed down on this) and he is so important for comics I don't think you can do a thread without one of this books. So this.

Speaking of Maus is also read everywhere but I'm going to spotlight it here, it made what I like to call the Graphic Novel Industry an actual thing in my opinion. It essential helped usher in Comic book Oscar bait books, and yes I like it. But it has a Watchmen like legacy.

Now there is a wide variety of comics to learn from and to take inspiration, This thread focuses on American comics but there are also plenty of comics to learn from in other countries. Don't think these are the only books to learn from or read. There is so much good stuff out.